Poll: 51% of Democrats Agree With 1981 Ronald Reagan – “Government Is The Problem, Not The Solution”

It would seem that a record number of Americans feel government is more often the source of America’s troubles, instead of the means of fixing them, as well as that they, apparently, pay too much in taxes. Voters also agree, in the latest Fox News poll that shows by a 67-18 % margin, that Ronald Reagan’s 1981 assessment of the nation’s woes can be applied today as well. In other words – the government IS the problem, not to the solution to America’s problems.

Compared to 2008, the portion seeing government “as the problem” is up 14 points from 53%. What’s more, it’s surprising that even 51% of Democrats also describe the government as the problem. Larger majorities of Republicans, 83%, and independents, 70%, also agree.

Released Wednesday, the poll also finds that those living in higher-income and lower-income households alike feel Uncle Sam takes too much. 61 percent of those earning $50,000 or more annually feel their tax bill is too high, as do 65% of those earning less than $50,000.

The Fox News poll is conducted under the joint direction of Shaw and Company Research (R) and Anderson Robbins Research (D), by telephone with live interviewers. In this nationwide survey from March 29-31, 2015, the 1,025 registered voters were reached via cell phone and landline numbers randomly selected for inclusion. The margin of sampling error of the full pol is plus or minus 3 percentage points.